Dimension Data Australia CEO Steve Nola joins Rimon Advisory to help it choose which start-ups to invest in

Chief executive of the
Australian arm of global technology services giant Dimension Data Steve
Nola will turn his eye towards investment opportunities in the local
tech startup scene, joining investment arm of Rimon Advisory as a
non-executive board member.

Mr Nola will continue in his role at
Dimension Data, but will help Rimon identify new investments, which
generally start at the seed round, before progressing to the second
stage follow-on rounds.

Rimon Advisory has operated for about five
years, helping entrepreneurs plan long-term growth and advising on how
to maximise available grants and tax incentives. It opened up a venture
capital arm two years ago, enabling it to back some of the companies it
was working with and then participate in subsequent rounds.

So far
it has publicly disclosed investments in three start-ups; logistics
technology provider Premonition, transport and airport connection
platform Jayride and online concierge service Amazing Co. However it has
also agreed investments in two further start-ups; foreign exchange
platform Psyquation and social media intelligence firm PoweredLocal.

Mr Nola said the new
role would benefit his existing employers at Dimension Data, giving
greater insight into the disruptive small players that could be future
partners or competitors to reckon with down the track.

He said he had long
harboured a passion for the disruptive innovation happening in the
startup scene and felt Rimon had hooked into a good model in mixing an
existing advisory firm with investment.

"In my 30 years at
Dimension Data I have seen a lot of customers with fantastic ideas that
have never been given the opportunity to really flourish and take things
to the next step," Mr Nola said.

"I want to impart some of the
skills and knowledge I have picked up on to smaller start-up
organisations ... If you are going to invest in something early stage
you want to be able to give it more than just dollars in terms of
capability to go with it."

Rimon Advisory co-founder and managing
director Lior Stein said the company's advisory business provided it
with an excellent vetting opportunity for potential investments, and
that the company was not looking for companies operating in any
particular sector. He said the firm looked for the basics of a strong
leadership team, a scalable product and a large (preferably global)
addressable market.

"We are looking to
invest in technology that we think is interesting and that we can have a
relationship with the team and have fun in the journey," he said.

"Every team we have invested in, we really enjoy spending time with them."

Mr
Stein and Mr Nola both said they believe there are great opportunities
for Australian entrepreneurs to think big, while remaining at home,
however Mr Stein expressed concern that the prevailing political
discourse around innovation had taken a turn for the worse.

He
said that while the recent abolition of 457 skilled migration visas and
rumoured negative changes to R&D tax incentives were understandable
from a political perspective, they sent the wrong message
internationally about Australia's standing in the global technology
ecosystem.

"I think the government
gives mixed messages ... When the Innovation Statement came out it was
very positive, but then the R&D tax incentive was reduced, and there
has been regular talk about changes that may or may not come, which
creates nerves and stress," Mr Stein said.

"The 457 visa changes
were not helpful, when you are building a global tech economy and you
want to compare yourself to the likes of Silicon Valley and Israel ...
they are open to the world.

"There needs to be a better balance
between wanting to take care of your own, which is important, and also
showing a message to the rest of the world that we are actually a big
player."